On the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ also known as Corpus Christi, the Collect (opening prayer) is: “O God, who in this wonderful Sacrament have left us a memorial of your Passion, grant us, we pray, so to revere the sacred mysteries of your Body and Blood that we may always experience in ourselves the fruits of your redemption.”

Spend some time reflecting on this prayer and on the Sacrament of the Eucharist. What does it mean to you and how has it impacted you? Remember how you have experienced the fruits of the Lord’s redemption. What wonders has the Lord worked in your life? Take a few moments to express gratitude for these experiences and the awareness of them.

In the hymn One Bread, One Body, the lyrics direct us to mindfulness of our call, one and all, to unity as God’s people (the church):

One bread, one body, one Lord of all
One cup of blessing which we bless
And we, though many, throughout the Earth
We are one body in this one Lord – John Foley, SJ (excerpt from One Bread, One Body)

Recall a time(s) when you have experienced unity and the fruits of the Lord’s redemption with others? In what ways have you witnessed the hand of the Lord? Give thanks for these times of common ground and the remembrance of them.

What hopes and desires do you have at this moment for awareness and unity in your life? your community? your country? and the world? Share these with the Lord. Ask the Lord for the grace to further appreciate and be inspired by experiences of the outpouring of His love.

Pray for one and all to have an open heart and mind to the well-being of all creation, and above all, to draw closer to God so as to embody (to speak and act in accord with) God’s desires as expressed through the example of Jesus.

How shall I make a return to the Lord
for all the good he has done for me?
The cup of salvation I will take up,
and I will call upon the name of the Lord. – Psalm 116:12-13